


This small thing

by Atalto



Series: The Story of Us (Pebble's Shance Fluff Week fics) [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Shance Fluff Week 2017, Slow Dancing, They get an alien cat, day 4: first/last
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 04:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11120196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: The Wraxnid was hardly two foot long, with a streamlined tail that made up most of its length and matted grey fur that covered its entire body. Lance could see why Coran said it was similar to cats; he thought it was a cat to be honest, until he finally clocked the six legs and five unblinking purple eyes that followed him around the room.The crew find an alien cat, who takes a liking to Lance. It's a good thing him and Shiro like cats.~Written for Shance Fluff Week day 4: First/Last (the Wraxnid is the last of her kind, Its loose okay)





	This small thing

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all!
> 
> Welcome to the return of actual domestic fluff that we all signed up to this week for :')
> 
> Enjoy!

"Wait, so, what actually is this thing?"

It had been an odd day.  
The team had just returned from saving a planet; usual fare, big angry Robeast that liked to smash stuff decided to fight a centuries old magical defence golem and defeated it. This somehow caused an entire planet of infinitely powerful clay witches to panic and send out a desperate distress call for Voltron. Even though, Lance decided, they were all probably stronger than Voltron and the castle put together.

But the Princess said strong allies are good allies to have, and their celebration party was the best Lance had ever been to (he and Shiro had gotten _way_ too drunk on alien mead and _the less said about that the better_ ) so really, who was he to complain?  
The only problem now was that while the team were doing responsible diplomacy stuff, a tiny native animal had crawled on board the Blue Lion. They didn't notice they had brought it back until Lance was cleaning up, where it slinked out of the airlock and leaped for his face with claws bared.

So now, the group were sat watching as Coran locked the animal in a glowing box and performed a slew of tests that he promised would reveal what this thing was. Once, they were standing with interest, but that was four vargas ago.

Coran hummed in reply to Pidge's question, turning his back on the group once again as the screens flashed with silhouettes of indistinguishable creatures. Inside the cage, the creature hissed at Lance again, and he moved backwards with a cringe. "Uh, Coran?" He asked cautiously, never breaking eye contact with the creature. " _Do_ you know what it is yet?"  
The answer wasn't immediate, but eventually Coran span around with a cry of surprise, nearly hitting Hunk in the face with a wild arm. "It's a Wraxnid!" He exclaimed. "Why, they were all but extinct ten thousand years ago. To see one now, it's extraordinary!"  
To their right, Allura's eyes widened, muttering her excited shock under her breath. The rest of the team deadpanned. "A... Wraxnid?" Shiro flatly asked, raising one eyebrow and folding his arms, shooting a confused glance at Lance who shrugged in reply.  
"Unexpected predators from the planet Wridwren, very similar to your Earthing felines." Coran chuckled. Allura brightly looked up from the creature. "Father had a friend once who used to keep Wraxnids as castle guards!" She frowned for a second. "They were always very nice, as long as you brought food."  
The Wraxnid was hardly two foot long, with a streamlined tail that made up most of its length and matted grey fur that covered its entire body. Lance could see why Coran said it was similar to cats; he thought it was a cat to be honest, until he finally clocked the six legs and five unblinking purple eyes that followed him around the room.

But it was still so _tiny._

"This... was a guard dog?" Keith asked in disbelief, crouching down to get a closer look.  
"Keith! Don't get any closer!"  
Ignoring Coran, Keith leaned towards the cage, staring at the Wraxnid that turned its head towards him, settling into a sitting position and curling its tail around its feet. "But it's so small..."  
"Okay Keith, now back away _very slowly_."  
Keith didn't have time to back away before the Wraxnid exploded into a mass of fur and flesh that pushed on the welding of the whole cage. It clawed and hissed. It's legs came through the bars of the cage, now long and lean, swiping sharp talons though the air where Keith had once been. He had jumped backwards, barrelling into Hunk who toppled over in shock.  
Allura ran over, fiddling with the latch.  
"Princess, are you setting that thing on us?" Lance nearly screeched, shuffling cautiously over towards where Shiro was tensely stood.  
Allura frowned angrily. "It's agitated, we need to get it out."

Within seconds, the cage was in pieces on the floor and the Wraxnid, now the size of tiger, was stood on all six legs with a wild look in its eyes. It flicked its head over to Lance, and he stopped still on the floor. He heard Keith breathe out a sigh of relief, only for the Wraxnid to jump from the table and begin to slink towards him.  
"Okay Lance, this is fine, just _don't move_."  
He didn't dare move. The Wraxnid was practically on top of him, and was _purring_?

Gently, two large paws had ended up on his shoulders, and a rough tongue was licking across his face. Once the four other paws were settled in his lap, the Wraxnid went lax against his chest and began to shrink slowly. Within seconds it was back to its usual kitten-like size. Lance looked up to see the other Paladins staring in a mixture of confusion and impressed disbelief.  
"Hey, Lance," Pidge said with a smirk as her Bayard deactivated. "Looks like it's imprinted on you."  
He looked down at the now small Wraxnid in his lap, then back up at the group as Coran finished shutting down the scanning equipment. "Now Paladins, this creature is the last one in existence, so treat her with upmost care." Coran took a large machine in his arms. "Hunk, Keith, mind helping me put this away?"

* * *

 

It was a little while after that Shiro found Lance in his room, playing with a fluff-covered ball on a stick that the Wraxnid was chasing around the floor. Huffing out an amused breath, Shiro leaned on the doorframe. "Having fun there?" He asked with a smile.  
Lance didn't even look up. "Yeah man, she's practically a cat, aren't you beautiful?" His voice turned high and soppy before looking back at Shiro and smiling sheepishly. "The Princess found this down in a storage room, thought it might be a good toy for her rather than my hands."  
Slowly as to not alert the Wraxnid, Shiro walked arose the room and sat next to Lance, taking the toy that he offered. "Y'know, she reminds me of the strays that used to hang around the beach after the tourists left." Lance mused. "There was this one that used to hang around the pizza shack, always begging for scraps, same colour as her really. Always used to get them too, the chef could never say no to a cute cat." A laugh filled the small room, intensifying at the Black Paladin's expense when the Wraxnid sunk two paws worth of claws into Shiro's hand and he pulled back with a hiss. "If we're keeping her, we're gonna' have to teach her that hands aren't toys." Shiro said through gritted teeth whilst fending her away from one hand with the other.  
"We're going to have to keep her." Stated Lance. "You heard what Coran said, she's the last of her kind, she needs protection!" His mouth twisted. "I think Hunk and the Princess would also kill us if we let her go. They seem to love her."  
Shiro hummed in agreement, recalling how Hunk had excitedly ran to the kitchen to try and make cat-kibble food goo, and how it took a lot of persuasion from Coran to tear the Princess away from Lance's room and let the animal sleep. By his feet, the Wraxnid crowed again, sound halfway between a low mewl and a bark. "Do you have a name for her yet?"  
"I didn't think I'd get this far." Lance's face twisted in thought. "Maybe..." He trailed off, awkwardly looking to the animal on the floor. Smiling supportively, Shiro nudged the Paladin next to him. "What were you going to say?"  
"I-Ignore me!" Lance spluttered. "It was a stupid idea."  
" _Blue."_  
Lance's face twisted, debating whether or to speak his thoughts. "I was gonna' suggest we call her Mariposa, or Mari or short." He stated. When there wasn't any reply, he carried on. "It's my sister's name, see, and she always _loved_ cats, like that one time when I was six and she was eight and she stole our neighbour's cat-"  
"Lance." Shiro cut him off softly, setting the toy on the floor and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mari's a great name. It suits her, and I'm pretty sure your sister would be honoured."  
Lance's head snapped around. "But, isn't it, kind of, pathetic?" He looked away again, face furrowing in what Shiro learned was one ready for an argument. "Like, the team's probably going to think I'm some homesick brat again, which I'm not! I just miss her, y'know?"  
That was when Lance felt himself get pulled into a rough hug, tilting his head just in time so his chin didn't collide with Shiro's shoulder. It was nice for a moment, soft and warm, and Lance's arms slipped around the black paladin's waist.  
But Shiro hadn't accounted for momentum, and within seconds they had both topped over on the bed. Lance was splayed awkwardly on top of Shiro, who had begun to laugh into his hair, causing Lance to laugh and turning the pile into one big giggling mess.

They lay like that for a while after the laughter died down and affectionate smiles had been swapped; enough time, apparently, for Mari to jump up and kneed Shiro's thigh, and for Lance to begin dozing whilst Shiro rubbed circles into his neck. It was Shiro that broke the contemplative silence first.  
"I had a hamster named after my brother once."  
"Really?" Lance asked, voice scratchy and sarcastic.  
"Yeah." Shiro said quietly. "He went to an East-coast university when I was thirteen, so mom bought me this hamster because I missed having him around and I named it after him." He chuckled at the memory. "She used to joke that he'd been replaced whenever he rang home." He left Lance laugh shallowly on his chest. "And have you noticed Pidge names all her robots after her pets back on Earth?"  
Lance shook his head lightly with a grin. "Hunk had an axolotl when I first met him when we were like, three. His mom joked that I was named after it."  
"What was it called?"  
"Sir Lancelotl."  
Now Shiro was laughing under his breath. "That's... _terrible_."  
"I know, right?" Lance joined in, then stopped suddenly. He felt something wet on his leg.  
"Kashi, I hate to ask you this, but have you just peed or something?"  
Shiro sighed uncomfortably. "I was about to ask you the same question."

Realisation hit.

" _Mari!"_

* * *

 

The litter tray, Lance decided, definitely needed to be somewhere other than the uppermost kitchen. Now they had to take the animal all the way up their without another accident, and Lance guessed she probably needed some food as well. There didn't seem to be anyone about, so they left the room hands intwined, talking quietly about whatever jumped to mind whilst keeping one eye on Mari in front of them. Mari was intent on trotting a few paces in front of him and Shiro, twisting her head back now and then to make sure they were still following her. Sure, she made a few wrong turns, and Lance had to sprint up a few corridors to grab her before she ran out of an airlock, but they got there eventually.  
They reached the kitchen ten minutes later, after Mari had tried to join Keith and Pidge on the training deck and had to be physically dragged away. Shiro had gone on ahead to try and get the food goo machine to work, and when Lance entered, he was stood in front of it with a confused expression on his face.  
Lance lifted an eyebrow. "Kashi, you okay there?"  
Shiro jumped at the sudden noise, before relaxing slightly when Lance's arms wormed their way around his waist. "I can't get this to work. Hunk left instructions, but they're unclear and-"  
"So let's go get Hunk. He'll know what to do." Lance said simply.  
"No, Mari is our responsibility, we should learn to do this ourselves." Shiro fired back. He'd tensed up under Lance's hands and his voice was becoming strained; Lance had learned Shiro quickly got stressed if he didn't understand things, and this was apparently one of them.  
"Did Hunk write them down?"  
A piece of paper with Hunk's scrappy handwriting was passed over Shiro's shoulder, and Lance retracted his hands to read it. He scanned over it for a second, before chuckling under his breath. "Oh, I see the problem!"  
"You do?"  
"Yeah!" Lance slipped under Shiro's arm to get a better look at the machine. "Hunk can't draw Altean to save his life." He tapped a few buttons, taking the ceramic bowl that Shiro offered and filling it with green biscuit-like food and looking down into the bowl. "I think this stuff's edible?"  
Mari definitely thought it was.

Shiro was still stood behind him, a mixture of shock and affection on his face. "So, how did you do it?"  
Turning on the ball of his foot, Lance smiled and shimmied under Shiro's arm again, holding the paper up so they could both see it. "See, he's not made it clear what the difference between these two symbols are." He pointed at the drawings. "I think that one has a spike off the diagonal, and- has he said that's the radio?"

* * *

 

Keith was regretting not taking a water pouch down to the training deck with him; Pidge couldn't find Shiro and had asked for help with her close-combat skills, and sure, he wasn't the best teacher, but he could certainly help.  
Half an hour later, they'd cleared level six together. Pidge had sunk to the floor, complaining about how her legs didn't work, and Keith had agreed to do the sustenance run to the kitchen.  
He'd heard Lance from the end of the corridor, along with a lower voice whom he'd assumed to be Hunk.

It wasn't Hunk.

Opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of Shiro with his back to the door. He was swaying slightly, resting his chin on whoever was in his arms; he couldn't quite see who it was, and was loath to enter the room any more.  
"Kashi? When we get back to Earth, can we get a proper cat?"  
Keith froze.  
"We might still have Mari around Kitten, you never know. Coran said she was the last of her kind, we don't know how long she's been alone."

That was Lance. In Shiro's arms. Calling each other pet names whilst practically slow-dancing.

Keith ran.

He was leaning against a wall when Hunk walked past, saying a jovial hello before noticing the look on his face and backtracking. "Keith? Are you with me dude?"  
Keith nodded slowly and pointed at the kitchen door. "I'm not going back in there. Pidge can deal without a water pouch for a bit."  
"Why not?" Inquired Hunk, shrugging lightly.  
"Because Lance and Shiro are in there, fucking _slow-dancing!_ " Keith whispered harshly, eyes widening again at Hunk's nonchalant reaction.  
"Oh yeah, I saw them. Cute, huh?" Hunk grinned. "You really should go and get the water, you know what Pidge gets like."  
"But they'll see me!"  
"Yeah dude, but they're still Shiro and Lance, they don't bite." Hunk stopped. "At least, not you. They might bite each other. I don't know, haven't asked Lance that yet."  
"Hunk, that's gross." Keith deadpanned and Hunk shrugged again, taking him by the shoulder and shoving him into the kitchen. "Now, go talk to them!"  
With that, Hunk closed the door and Keith was left alone. The door hadn't alerted them, apparently, for they were still swaying and talking quietly.  
"E-Excuse me?"  
Evidently, that was the catalyst for all change. Lance's head appeared around the side of Shiro's bicep, brick red and wide eyed. Then it flew back, and Shiro was staggering across the room as Lance pushed him with surprising force. He was left blinking hazily in Keith's general direction, smiling and holding a hand up in a wave. Lance was still stood in the centre of the room looking mortified and tense. "Damnit Mullet, at least give us some warning!"   
"Maybe you should choose less public places to dance with your _boyfriend._ " Keith bristled, but stopped when he noticed the terrified glances Lance was shooting at Shiro, who smiled gingerly at Keith. "And _how_ long has this been going on for?"  
Shiro averted eye contact. "A long time."  
Keith looked between the two, took a deep breath then walked past the still beetroot-red Lance to get to the refrigerator where the water pouches were stored. "Well, don't let me get in your way. I'm just here to pick up water."  
"Keith, I'm sorry-"  
Keith turned to face them. "Don't apologise. You're happy, I guess." He shrugged and smiled crookedly as Lance relaxed, finally looking at him. "I just want to say, Shiro, I thought your taste in men was better."  
With a smirk, he walked past Lance again, who gave him a light punch on the arm. There was no force in it, and the smile that accompanied it told him Lance wasn't mad, and he left the room with Shiro's quiet laugh behind him.  
"Oh, and your pet crapped in the corner."  
_"Mari, godamn it!"_

**Author's Note:**

> This was surprisingly fun to write? This was also the prompt that I had the least idea bout what to write for, so I think it came out okay!
> 
> Kudos/comments are much appreciated! (Also thanks to everyone who has left comments so far on either tumblr or here, these are getting more attention that I though they would and honestly it's made my week!!!)


End file.
